


Wild Child Country

by Sabretoothgooselion



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ableism, Ableist Language, Adventure, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avatar is a place, Because Suki is a cool bartender, Canon Disabled Character, Disability Rights Discussions, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jet is a cop, M/M, Nobody's going to school on my watch, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Romance, Some underage drinking, The Boulder is a horse, The Fire Nation is Scientology, This all makes sense in context, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, and a cult leader lol, but they are going on ADVENTURES, i swear it's not crack but it's sure not canon either, or do some insane horse stunts, or solve a murder, where they might have to cuddle for warmth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24798466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabretoothgooselion/pseuds/Sabretoothgooselion
Summary: Horseback riding. Whitewater rafting. Hot springs. Monastic retreats. Long ago, the tourist town of Avatar lived in harmony. But everything changed when the Inner Fire Personal Achievement Center moved in.Katara’s pissed about the cult taking over her hometown. Suki's just trying to keep her bar afloat. Sokka wants to know what kind of jerk keeps booking his wilderness survival courses and bailing. Mayor Zhao wants Toph to quit trampling his campaign donors. Zuko's just trying to have a beer in peace.Obviously, peace was never an option.Feat. Cults, angst, secret tunnels, extreme equestrianism, disability rights advocacy, tea shops of questionable loyalties, and all our favorite friends in the Zukka Action-Hallmark Modern AU that you didn’t know you needed.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 108





	1. "Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow."

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 contains a lot of flashbacks, but character ages during the main story are as follows:
> 
> Sokka: 23  
> Zuko: 24  
> Katara: 22  
> Aang and Toph: 20  
> Suki: 24

“You’ve escaped me before, warrior. But you’re not getting out of this one so easily.” Sokka’s captor is perched on the edge of the couch, looking him over with a raised eyebrow. 

He’s the danger man. The plan guy. He _laughs_ at being underestimated. As she rises and turns to look out the window, he presses his advantage. He raises his arms over his head, sticks his elbows out as far as they can go, and brings his bound hands down _hard_ against his sternum. 

He succeeds in knocking the wind out of himself and falling on his ass. He does not succeed in breaking the zip ties. Suki, the absolute traitor, ignores his distress.

“They’re here!” the door to the visitor’s lodge jingles as she runs out. Sokka doesn’t need to be told that. The crunch of gravel is enough to let him know that he’s out of time.

Sokka allows himself a couple of wheezes before rolling to his feet and shoving his way out the door after her. Zip ties or no, it’s not every day his baby sister comes home. 

“Katara! Welcome back! Congratulations on learning to talk!” Sokka is entitled to brotherly mocking. It’s part of the sacred Sibling Compact. 

Unfortunately, so is Katara. She pulls away from Suki’s exuberant hug and gives him a _look._ “Sokka! Ew! In the _visitor’s lodge!?_ ”

Dad is still sitting in the driver’s seat of the Jeep, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking very much like he’s trying hard not to see what he’s seeing. 

“What? No! That’s not- it’s not like that anymore!” Okay, so in the past Sokka and Suki have gotten up to some. . . _risqué_ activities around the camp. But that’s in the past. 

Suki comes to his rescue, like the _absolute angel_ of a _just friend_ she is. “Sokka and I have been working on some new options for the wilderness survival courses. A lot of women signed up this past season, and since I’m nowhere near getting the dojo off the ground we’re playing with the idea of offering a course that incorporates practical self-defense and kidnapping escape tips.”

Katara gives Sokka’s bound hands another look. “I’m not sure this is the situation where ‘those who can’t do, teach’ applies.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m a fantastic escaper. Suki just brought the wrong type of zip ties. These are too strong. Kidnappers are criminals and therefore wouldn’t spend extra money on the heavy-duty zip ties.” As far as attempts to recover manly dignity go, it’s not his best. 

As far as attempts to make his dad laugh go, it’s a smash hit. “It’s a good idea, you two. Let’s help Sokka escape so he can help us unload.”

Just like that, a piece of normal slides back into Sokka’s life. Katara, his horrible brat of a baby sister, has been gone for six years. Six years ago she got into college way too young and just _left,_ and Sokka let her even though he didn’t think he’d ever really get to see her again.

As they bicker and unload boxes from the trailer dad hauled all the way from Ba Sing Se University, she chatters on about opening a therapy practice out of Arnook’s wellness spa. Sokka won’t give her a bigger head by admitting it, but he’s _proud_ of his sister. She left home early and came back with a whole master’s degree, bursting with plans to help the little town she left behind. 

Avatar needs all the help it can get. He hopes his sister is ready for how _different_ it is. 

%%%%%%

Sokka is fifteen the first time he sees Inner Fire. He’s sitting outside the Cabbage Patch Café with his arm around Yue, talking about nothing and feeling sparkling and young in the summer sun. 

He notices Mayor Zhao first. He doesn’t really care about the mayor of a small town he’s planning on leaving, but he knows that mom and dad were _pissed_ when he won the election, and he’s had to see those stupid sideburns on way too many flyers.

Zhao is strolling down main street with someone Sokka doesn’t recognize, a tall guy in sunglasses with long glossy hair and a way-too-long goatee. They have their hands behind their backs like they think they look official and important, but they’re wearing _bright red business suits._

He cracks a joke to Yue about Santa Claus getting a bad shave and Christmas coming early that isn’t very funny, but she laughs anyways. The blue in her eyes makes him forget all about creepy men in red suits.

%%%%%%

Sokka is sixteen and the wind is bitterly cold when Katara comes home crying with her little bald friend in tow. They sit in the living room of the home cabin and the kid (Katara says his name is Aang) tells them that the monastery is going away. 

Mom’s looking things up online and making furious phone calls. Dad is talking sagely about constitutional protections for religion, eminent domain, economic revitalization, and a bunch of other words that Sokka doesn’t understand. 

What Sokka does understand is that the monastery is a part of Avatar. People come through town from the city and hike up to the eastern hills to sit quietly and not eat meat. Sokka doesn’t really see the appeal, and sometimes the tourists don’t either. Those people end up paying customers at Wolf River Adventures, choosing to get away from it all with survival courses and white-water rafting. 

Aang says that the city is taking the land the monastery is on and giving it to something called Inner Fire. Mom looks a few more things up and says that these guys are no good, that she’s going to the town council, that we’re going to fight this. 

Dad says that they have a duty to take care of Avatar because Avatar takes care of them, and Sokka agrees because Dad knows what’s good and right. Sokka says _we’re not gonna let them get away with this_ and his bratty little sister looks at him like she did when they were kids and he was the star of her life.

%%%%%%

Sokka is seventeen when Mom disappears. It’s early spring, the currents are unpredictable, and the sky is getting dark like a storm is coming. She leaves a note that says _gone rafting, be back soon_ on top of a bunch of letters from universities (for Katara) and community colleges (for him). 

The memory of the day will come back later to him in patchwork and tatters: Dad making call after call, Dad telling him to _keep Katara at home and safe don’t you dare go anywhere._ The sound of thunder. The sky getting darker as he holds his sister through the night. 

When they wake up, still clinging to each other, the fire in the cabin has gone out and Dad is coming back through the door dripping wet and shaking his head. The sun is just starting to rise as Dad pours himself a drink. 

There are search parties for days combing the river and the surrounding forests, the bluffs and the caves, the rolling grounds of the monastery. The Bei Fongs send horses who can navigate rocky bluffs with ease, Arnook shuts down the wellness spa and the hot springs to send his whole staff out, Kyoshi’s bar and grill feeds everyone that goes searching. 

The newly-minted Officer Jet patrols the roads in and out of town, stopping people for increasingly flimsy reasons to ask if they’ve seen Kya Nilak. Sokka leads about a dozen monks through the woods, a small pacifist army of loss, and Monk Gyatso remarks that his mother is very, very loved by this town. 

In the end, all the love in Avatar doesn’t bring his mother back. They never even find a body.

%%%%%%

Katara’s official Welcome Home party takes place at Kyoshi’s. Suki’s running the bar and making everyone pay for their drinks, which Sokka doesn’t mind per se, but it does mean he needs to watch his wallet.

Toph’s already three sheets to the wind, complaining about her parents putting bridle charms on all the tack again. “They say it looks better, but it’s not like I can even see it! It just makes working the equipment even more confusing!” She gestures wildly, spilling a little beer on Sokka, but he’s not gonna complain over her complaining. He’s not _rude._

“I like them!” says Aang, helpful and oblivious in equal measures. “I know you can’t see them, but they’re pretty! Plus, they help everyone else know who your horse belongs to.”

Toph slams her beer back down on the table. “Anyone who doesn’t know The Boulder is mine at this point needs to get their eyes checked.”

Sokka agrees. The residents of Avatar have long become accustomed to being shouted at by a tiny blind girl riding an enormous thoroughbred stallion. The Bei Fong fortune and Avatar’s incompetent police force combine to make the law of the land _get out of the horse’s way or it’s your own damn fault._ Everyone knows that.

Well, _almost everyone._ That guy is back again, red hoodie pulled over his face as he scowls into his beer.

Katara giggles, rosy-cheeked and happy under Aang’s arm. “I still can’t believe they put a hitching post in front of the Cabbage Patch just for you.” 

“They’re gonna hear from my lawyers if they don’t keep it.” The table goes quiet.

Katara frowns. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t they keep it?”

“Cabbage Patch got bought out, sis.” Sokka hates delivering bad news. Especially this kind of bad news. “It closed last month. It’s reopening soon, but we’re pretty sure it’s gonna be-”

“Seriously?!” Katara rears up from her relaxed slouch, and the height difference leaves Aang struggling to keep his arm around her without hanging off of her. “How much of this town does Inner Fire really need?”

 _None of it,_ Sokka thinks to himself. But that hasn’t stopped them. The old boutique shut down a couple years ago and re-opened with racks full of nothing but red. The bookshop doesn’t sell anything that isn’t written or approved by a Sozin. 

“Hey,” Suki cuts in, pulling empties off the table. “I’m still here, if you guys are ready for another round.” Sokka pulls out his wallet in the name of supporting local business. 

The door swings open and shut. When Sokka turns around to look, angry hoodie guy is gone. 

%%%%%

After mom disappears, dad starts drinking earlier and earlier in the day. Katara gets into Ba Sing Se university even though she’s only 16 because his little sister is amazing. She bursts into tears when the letter comes, and Sokka tells her to _go._ He’ll keep things running here for her, holding down the fort while she saves the world. 

It takes a lot of convincing, but Sokka won’t let her turn it down. He sees his sister’s sparkling mind and flinty ambition and his gut twists with jealousy for all the places she’ll go and the things she’ll accomplish. He’s her older brother and he has to protect her from everything, up to and including wasting her brilliant mind pulling dad out of the bottle every day. 

Yue gets a scholarship to study astrophysics and asks him to move to the city with her the next day. A year ago, Sokka would have said yes, would have sold his jeep to pay for an apartment, he would have done anything for her. 

Now his head is full of obligations and there’s a twinge in his neck from all the times he’s turned towards the bell above Wolf River Adventures’ front door. There’s a heavy feeling in his gut that burrows in deeper every time the bell rings and it’s not his mom coming home. 

Sokka tells Yue to go, too. 

%%%%%%

Summer comes and there’s way too many tourists in town and Wolf River Adventures is booked solid every day, making all the money they need for the winter season. The work takes on a rhythm: Gran-gran’s keeping the home cabin together while Sokka runs the survival courses, Bato does the white-water rafting adventures and Dad handles the ropes courses. Katara runs the front office and the campground reservations while she gets ready to move out.

Family reunions, weddings, honeymoons, corporate retreats, private vacations. Everyone comes to Avatar to celebrate a milestone by getting away from their lives, while Sokka stays right where he is and pretends his own isn’t passing him by.

Aang’s been coming over more often to help. Sokka thinks the kid is too flighty and useless to hire, but he doesn’t even want to get paid. He just wants to _do something,_ and Sokka gets that. Sokka doesn’t get why doing something involves spending so much time around his sister, but he keeps his opinions to himself. They’ve got enough going on.

It’s not even a surprise by the time the news breaks at the end of summer: Inner Fire is getting away with it. The monks are moving out and the monastery is getting torn down. 

It’s Sokka’s 18th birthday, and Suki’s agreed to serve him and the others at Kyoshi’s as long as nobody drives. She’s cool like that, the way she’s cool about everything.

He’s got special dispensation to drink and he’s a year older and his birthday feels like a funeral. His mom is gone, his sister is leaving, Yue dumped him _months ago_ but she’s gonna keep dating him until it’s time for her to leave too.

But they’re all here right now _(except mom, never mom)_ and so Sokka packs away the part of him that hates all of them for leaving him into a little box in the back of his brain. Aang’s probably going to leave soon too, but there’s a clear and present reason for that, so when Sokka’s three beers deep he looks at the little monk sucking down cranberry juice and tells him.

“I _hate Inner Fire._ I hate them all and I’m going to hate them for the rest of my life.”

Aang gives him a tiny smile and says that attachment is suffering. 

_Damn right it is,_ Sokka thinks. _Damn right it is._

%%%%%%

The leaves change, and Aang doesn’t leave. Monk Gyatso wanted him to transfer to another monastery, but he tells Sokka that he feels a spiritual calling here. Sokka’s grateful that he’s got at least one friend left, even if he’s a bald high schooler.

But the monastery was technically Aang’s school, and now Aang is technically a high-school dropout. He ends up with a job tending the stables on the Bei Fong Estate for room, board, and what is definitely not minimum wage. 

Sokka thinks this is outrageous, but Aang says he’s just happy to make new friends. Said friends include the Bei Fong’s blind daughter and a horse named Appa. Appa is nice and Toph isn’t, but Sokka likes them both. There’s a trail that runs from the Bei Fong Estate up past the cliffs and all the way down to Wolf River, and Sokka gets used to the sound of hooves announcing friends. 

Toph’s parents have told her if she qualifies for the Paralympics in dressage, they’ll turn her stables into a riding school for the disabled. Toph treats her medals like certainties and says eventually, she’ll make them open a category for show jumping too. 

Sokka’s special dispensation to get drunk at Kyoshi’s extends through the fall, and if he spends the night in Suki’s room above the bar every now and then, that’s nobody’s business. 

Red vans with men in red jumpsuits roll through town. Dynamite rumbles from the eastern hills. The paper says once demolition is done, the Inner Fire Personal Achievement Complex is gonna take _years_ to complete.

By the first day of winter, Aang is the last Buddhist in Avatar.

%%%%%%

Li Cobalt was supposed to be here at 7:30am. It’s almost eight.

Sokka is 23 years old and he’s in the visitor’s center ass-early in the morning, stacking and restacking two sets of supplies for his comprehensive wilderness survival course. He had to get up extra early because his _sister_ is supposed to be _managing the website now_ and didn’t tell him he had a reservation for _today_ until _last night._

Usually these are group packages reserved weeks in advance in the summertime, a team effort between Sokka and his dad to corral team-building businessmen through the trails and woods and get them to be useful for once in their lives. It’s the most expensive package they offer, covering two full days of how to seek shelter, forage for food, build fires, and find water.

Someone buying a solo package is a rarity, especially as the chill fall air rolls in and the tourists filter back to their own lives. Sokka almost never gets to run this course by himself, and he is _stoked._ The online sign-up form specifically requested _him._

He contemplates adding the escape stuff Suki’s been working on as an extra. He wonders what kind of guy Li Cobalt is. He hopes he’s cool. Sokka loves this stuff but being stuck in the woods for two days with someone who sucks would, well, suck.

He throws the zip ties on the stack of supplies. He takes them off again. 

He pulls out his phone, and puts it back, and finally sends a text. 

To: Li Cobalt [7:48pm]  
_Hi, Li! This is Sokka with Wolf River Adventures. We have you booked for our comprehensive wilderness survival course today. We were slated to start at 7:30. Are you on your way?_

Li Cobalt has his read receipts on. Sokka knows he sees the text. He follows up. 

To: Li Cobalt [8:15am]  
_Sokka with Wolf River Adventures here. If you’re not able to take the course today, we’re happy to reschedule to a later date. Please note that we don’t allow refunds without at least 24 hours’ notice._

Sokka squints at his phone as the sun starts to filter in through the windows. Li Cobalt, he can see, has read the text and is typing a response. Then he stops typing. Sokka waits a perfectly reasonable amount of time before finally just calling the damn guy. 

Li Cobalt declines his call on the first ring, like an asshole. 

From: Li Cobalt [8:54am]  
_Can’t take the course. Keep the money. Don’t text me again._

Sokka sees red and throws his phone at the couch. Li Cobalt, he’s decided, is the _world’s biggest dick._ Sokka picks his phone back up. With two whole days freed up, that he’s got time for some hate-googling. The signup form is very helpful in that regard.

By the end of the hour, Sokka knows these things about Li Cobalt: He’s 26 years old, unless he lied on the signup form. He’s not on any social media. He used PayPal to sign up for the course, and the username is Blue_Spirit26, which appears nowhere else on the internet. Li Cobalt’s mailing address is an Avatar P.O. box. His phone number has an Avatar area code. He very likely lives in Avatar.

He listed _himself_ as his emergency contact.

Theory one: Somebody Sokka knows signed up for the course under a fake name and decided not to take it. Problem: Sokka doesn’t know anyone that would spend that much money on. . . what? Waking him up early for no reason?

Theory two: Somebody Sokka doesn’t know signed up for the course, still possibly under a fake name, and decided not to go through with it for an unknown reason. After 23 years in a very small town, there is only one subset of permanent residents that Sokka doesn’t know individually by name, because they are jerks, and Sokka doesn’t associate with jerks. 

To: Li Cobalt [10:00 am]  
_Jerk._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently I have this thing outlined to land at 40,000 words. It will be a damn miracle if I actually manage to keep it that short. I'm studying for the bar exam so I cannot have a fixed update schedule, but I'm also procrastinating a lot so expect updates frequently.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, please review!


	2. "Any information is valuable to the degree that you can use it."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gaang goes to town. Sokka goes shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings in the front, party in the back. This chapter features mild homophobia and ableism as well as references to off-screen drug use.

It’s one of those beautiful September afternoons where the sky is bright and the awful summer heat gives way to balmy weather and a gentle breeze. Dad leaves in the morning to take a group of middle-aged women in matching t-shirts white-water rafting. He’s left Sokka with the company card, a shopping list, and a gentle _you can’t spend this beautiful day laying around on the couch_.

Sokka doesn’t have any aunts or uncles, so he knows that Dad is unaware of one of the many provisions of the Sacred Sibling Compact: orders by an absent parent are not to be enforced until there is reasonable certainty said parent is about to get home.

Accordingly, Sokka sprawls across the couch in the home cabin while Katara curls up in the comfy chair across the room. The passing of years has in no way diminished their ability to spend hours in complete silence, scrolling through their respective social media and messaging the same group chat.

**~*Team Avatar*~**

**[Snoozles]  
** _@SugarQueen and i have the afternoon off whos down to clown_

**[TwinkleToes]**  
_ME!!!!_

**[DrunkFuFighting]**  
_Out_ _☹_ _omw to meet with a brewery, gotta do deals_

**[HorseBoss]**  
_Bring back samples!_

_@Twinkle Toes get a job_

**[TwinkleToes]  
** _I finished the stables two hours ago! AND I french braided the boulder’s mane_

**[HorseBoss]  
** _OMG stop your fired_

**[TwinkleToes]  
** _LOL no. I’m great. #LetTheBoulderFeelPretty_

**[SugarQueen]**  
_Cuuuuute! I wanna see!_

**[Snoozles]  
** _if B-money’s getting hair treatments ur not teaching/training rn!_

_come thru_

**[HorseBoss]**  
_# champions don’t need pretty_

_Come through for what_

**[Snoozles]  
** _Idk lets go to town_

_literally, metaphorically, im easy_

**[SugarQueen]  
** _Yes! I haven’t hung out on main in years! Please please please_

_Also #LetTheBoulderFeelPretty_

**[HorseBoss]  
** _Ok down_

**[Snoozles]  
** _Yes yes yes! lets go shopping!_

_meet outside oh’s curios?_

**[SugarQueen]  
** _Dad told you to get supplies, not more monkey statues_

**[HorseBoss]**  
_@Twinkle Toes if you have time to braid you have time to sidle_

**[TwinkleToes]**  
_Sidle? I can shimmy if u want too_

**[Horse Boss]**  
_**** you and **** this app you know what I mean_

_Get my horse ready fool we’re gonna ride_

**[Twinkle Toes]  
** _Yip yip!_

**[Snoozles]  
** _@HorseBoss your parents put the censor filter back on_

_Meet us outside oh’s in an hour and ill take it off for you again_

**[Horse Boss]  
** _****** **** this **** in the ******* and then **** it straight into the sun_

_See y’all soon_

%%%%%%

The main strip isn’t what it used to be.

Sokka remembers how packed it could get in the summers when they were little. It’s a flat little road with no clear delineation between sidewalk and pavement, with rows of shops lined up like a postcard from decades past.

Katara hasn’t been here in years, and Sokka didn’t think to warn her that so many of those shops have boarded up or turned red. As they take off from Oh’s to wander the strip, Sokka leads the way, with Katara and Aang falling into step behind him, Aang leading Appa, and Toph bringing up the rear on The Boulder.

The gang’s all here, but the town isn’t.

They plod along at an easy pace, talking about nothing and catching Katara up on the last few years of gossip. Sokka trips on a pothole while he’s fixing Toph’s dictation app, and he grabs a hitching post to keep from eating shit.

They’re in front of the restaurant formerly known as the Cabbage Patch Café. The site of Sokka (and half the town’s) first date, the regular hangout for just about anyone to hit up when they were bored. It was large, cheap, and the owner (who everyone affectionately called Cabbage Man) never ran anyone out for lingering too long.

Now it’s dark inside, the sidewalk tables are gone, and there’s a big green poster plastered in the window.

 **Coming Soon:  
** **The Jasmine Dragon**  
**Fine Teas and Pastries  
** **(now hiring for grand opening)**

Sokka narrates the sign and the general condition of the old hangout for Toph.

“R.I.P,” she replies.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about getting another job,” Aang said.

Katara frowns. “Toph, you didn’t really fire Aang, did you?”

“She says that all the time! I mean like a second job. It’s just. . . with the riding school up and running, a lot of the students do the stable work and there’s more permanent grooms on board.” Aang turns and pats Appa’s nose. “It’s not all on me anymore, and I have a lot more days where I don’t have anything to do. Toph and I have talked about it before.”

“It’s no skin off my back, Twinkletoes. You can stay as long as Appa likes you.”

“You can’t work _there_ ,” Katara huffs. “It’s obviously another Inner Fire buyout.”

Sokka would agree if it were true, but he’s not so sure about this one. “Usually when they take over a business, they don’t hire from the town. And the sign is green!”

Katara rolls her eyes. “Who cares what color the sign is?”

“I don’t!”

“I know, Toph. But just—” she gestures at the store as if she’s very nearly stopped herself from saying _look_. “The Cabbage Patch used to be packed! Why else would it fold if it weren’t for _them?”_

“Sometimes businesses just go under, Sweetness. They had _tons_ of cabbage stuff on the menu, and nobody really likes cabbage that much. It was a miracle it stayed open as long as it did!”

“I like cabbage that much!” Aang protests. “I could wreck a whole cart of cabbages if I was hungry enough!” He faces the windows of the empty building, but his eyes go off into the middle distance. “Gyatso used to take me there whenever we went into town. It had a lot of vegetarian options. All the monks really liked it.”

Katara puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay if you want to spend some time at the new place too, Aang. There’s no harm in applying, you’ll know before they hire you if it’s Inner Fire or not.”

Aang smiles and puts his hand over hers.

Sokka is the captain in charge of a fun day out on the town. He is _not_ going to let this turn into a melancholy trip down memory lane, even if they are literally walking down a lane full of old memories.

“Come on, guys. It sucks. It sucks hard. But staring in the window isn’t gonna change anything.” He beckons the group to keep going, but Katara and Aang stay where they are.

He takes a few steps forward to herd the group along, but they’re stuck in whatever kind of moment they’re having.

Toph pulls The Boulder out from behind Appa and passes all of them. “If you nerds are gonna stand around moping all day, move on out of my way.”

“That’s the spirit, Toph!” Sokka cheers her on. “We’re not gonna let Inner Fire get in the way of our good time!”

Toph trots forward for a good three yards before The Boulder swerves to avoid a sidewalk easel outside of an all-red clothing store. A middle-aged couple exiting the store scramble to avoid the oncoming horse, The Boulder prances in place to keep from utterly demolishing them, and the man ends up dumped on his ass into a rack of what has been advertised as _consciousness-lifting apparel_.

His wife is furious and tells Toph to _watch it_ , which evokes a very predictable response.

Sokka lives surrounded by stunning natural landscapes, but the whole debacle is hands down one of the most beautiful things he’s ever seen. Even Katara and Aang snap out of their funk and join in on the fun.

The old woman helps her companion up, and he sneers at Toph. “Keep that behavior up, young lady. We’ll see how much longer you can have your beast on these roads!”

“Try and stop me, loser!” the couple are already climbing into their car and pulling away, but that doesn’t stop Toph from shouting after them. “I’m an equestrian _champion!_ I can ride my horse anywhere I damn well please!”

Sokka flips them the bird for good measure. “Assholes!”

“Sokka, language!” Katara scolds.

“What? They are!”

Aang frowns. “Yeah, but. . . what if they really try to keep Toph from riding?”

“Who _cares?_ ” Toph slams her fists down on the pommel of her saddle. “Ever since we got here we’ve been talking about nothing but these creeps, and I can’t even see who they are! The Boulder is my eyes and if they’re putting obstacles where he’s walking, he’s gonna walk around them. It’s _their_ fault for not looking where they’re going, _I’m_ gonna ride my horse wherever I want, and that’s that.”

As far as Sokka is concerned, Toph has the final say on the matter. That doesn’t stop him from _thinking_ about it as they make their way down the strip.

It really was just the Monastery at first. Then one store, then another, then some snowbirds’ vacation homes. . . over the past five years, Inner Fire has become more and more of the town’s permanent population. About half of town council are still normal people, but the other half, including Mayor Zhao, are Inner Fire.

He remembers Bato telling him once that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it’ll jump out, but if you put it in the pot and let the water heat up slowly. . . He doesn’t want to be a frog. He doesn’t want to be in a pot.

He has no desire to be involved in any kind of pot, not since –

“Oh my god, is that Haru?” Katara squeals. “When did he get _facial hair?”_

Think of the devil. Well, not the devil. There’s nothing _wrong_ with Haru. He’s a very nice guy that can’t take a hint and Sokka doesn’t particularly want to talk to him right now, or ever. Except he’s right across the street with an armload of groceries and _the worst mustache ever_ and he will _definitely_ _come over and say hi_ if he sees Sokka.

Sokka tries to tactically position himself between The Boulder and the storefront, which is a different thing than hiding. Hiding implies complete concealment. Sokka, on the other hand, is cleverly avoiding an uncomfortable situation.

“ _Haru!_ Over here!” Now Katara is _yelling_ and _waving_ and there is no way that Haru will not notice his sister’s unparalleled capacity for volume. It is, Sokka decides, scientifically impossible.

He beats a hasty retreat into the store, where he is now definitely hiding. He moves behind a display of glossy hardcover books and picks one up, ready to subject it to _intense pretend scrutiny_.

His object of interest is _Mastering the Blue Flame: A Pathway to Perfect Self-Realization_ , by Azula Sozin. A beautiful woman gazes up at him from the cover, wearing perfect red lipstick and an expression that can only be described as _predatory_.

It occurs to Sokka that he has just traded one uncomfortable situation for another. He jumped out of the frog-pot of talking to Haru and right into the Inner Fire Reading Room.

“Hi there! That’s a great choice!” Sokka startles and spins around, shielding himself with the book. The lizard part of his brain expects Azula Sozin to be standing right behind him, ready to unhinge her jaw and eat him alive.

Normally, that would be just Sokka’s luck. This time, a cute girl wearing a pink jumpsuit and the bounciest ponytail Sokka has ever seen is standing right in his personal bubble.

“That’s one of our more advanced titles! I normally don’t recommend it for beginners, but I can tell you have a really strong spark. Let me show you some lower-temperature books you can supplement it with for the greatest chance of maximizing your inner potential!” She grabs his wrist and pulls him to the front of the store.

Sokka follows her, _like an idiot_.

“This one is _great_ for introductory reading, it really helps you get down the basics of mastering your negative thought patterns!” She holds up another glossy book ( _why are they all so shiny?)_ titled _Clearing Smoke: Understanding What Suffocates Your Potential_.

Sokka has suddenly entered a bizarro universe, where _shopping_ and _talking to cute salesgirls_ have become uncomfortable experiences.

“I’m, uh, I’m just looking. At the books. Just wanted to have a look at the old books, and maybe see if I wanted to read one someday. But not today. I can’t read.” Perfect. This girl has no idea who he is. Maybe if he’s sub-literate she’ll kick him out and he can go back to the normal world and make awkward small talk with Haru.

“Then you need this more than anyone! Inner Fire can help you master _all_ of the suppressive energies that are keeping you from enlightenment. We have DVD sets and books on tape, too!” She tilts her head and _looks_ at him. “But you’re more suited to personal interaction, I can tell. Let me get your information and I’ll sign you up for a seminar! We have them every Wednesday and Sunday night, and they’re totally free!”

Sokka hates this bizarro universe. It’s making him come up with a way to _turn down free stuff_.

Okay, survival mode. Stop. Think. Observe. Plan. These are the key steps to surviving in the unforgiving wilderness, and Sokka can use them to survive a hard sales pitch.

“What’s your name? Mine’s Ty Lee!” Ty Lee is not giving him any time to stop. She’s _good at this_.

“Nice to meet you.” He reverts to his other emergency strategy: continuous lying. “I’m Wang. Wang. . . Fire.”

In retrospect, he really should have stopped. And thought. And observed. And planned. There is no way that this can get worse.

Ty Lee’s eyes _light up_. She gasps like she’s meeting a celebrity. “It’s great that you’re here! What an incredible moment. You’re taking the first step towards your true destiny today, Wang F-“

“SOKKA!” Katara finds him. Is this better? Is this worse? There’s no way to tell in bizarro universe.

She grabs his arm and yanks him away from Ty Lee. “What,” she hisses, “ _are you doing here?_ ”

Ty Lee looks delighted at having two potential recruits. If Sokka were her, he would be backing away and calling the police. Except that would be _useless,_ because then Jet would show up. No, Sokka would be backing away to a safe distance.

Like the moon.

 _Okay, damage control_. _Proceed with the plan and see it through to the end._

“I’m, uh. . . gathering more information on Inner Fire!” He hopes Katara picks up on what he’s not saying, which is _I am obviously performing vital reconnaissance on our sworn enemy_.

She doesn’t. “Information? They’re taking over the town. They’re stealing our livelihood. How much more information do you _need?_ ”

“It can be your town too if you decide you’re ready to reach your full potential! I was just telling Wang here about our free seminars!”

Katara’s face screws up in a particular way that Sokka _knows_. This the glare that precedes the unholiest of tantrums, physical violence, and possibly murder. If he doesn’t intervene, this whole event is going to end with Jet arresting his baby sister. Sokka, for a _whole litany of reasons_ , cannot allow that to happen.

“This IS my town! It’s been my town since I was BORN HERE! How dare you act like you have ANY RIGHT—"

“ _I didn’t want to talk to Haru!_ ” Okay, that came out a lot louder than he wanted it to. Sokka has his back to the window and no idea if Haru is still out there, or if he can hear him through the glass, but this is now an emergency.

Katara whirls back to him. “You’d rather talk to _her?!”_ Now she’s violently mad at him. This is much more manageable.

“Wow, thanks! I’m glad you want to talk to me. You’re cute!”

Ty Lee clearly does not appreciate Sokka’s _life-saving interference_ , but he’s in too deep to back out now. Katara has homed in on a rare moment of sibling honesty, and there is no way she’s going to let this go. Ty Lee could be pointing a gun at them and Katara would still dive headfirst down this rabbit hole.

He could lie, or at least deflect, but that would only make her angrier and escalate what is already a bad situation. His only option is to confuse her by giving her as much of the truth as possible and then drag her away before she has time to process it.

“ _Haru and I had sex!_ ” he really, really hopes Haru is either not there or cannot hear him through the glass. “Two years ago! It was Avatar Day and he didn’t have that mustache and I had a few beers and he brought pot and then things kind of got out of control from there! Then I tried to ghost him, but in case you haven’t noticed, we live in a really small town! And now every time we run into each other he texts me later trying to hook up and it’s really _really_ uncomfortable, so I ran away and _I didn’t know it was Inner Fire, I swear!_ ”

Phase I of Operation Prevent Homicide is a success. Katara stares at him with her mouth open and _says nothing_.

Phase II is interrupted by Ty Lee’s _complete lack of survival instinct_.

“Oh, then our program is _perfect_ for you! Inner Fire’s workshops don’t just help you maximize your personal potential, they’re scientifically proven to ward off unnatural energetic interferences like negative sexual deviance!”

There might actually be something wrong with Sokka’s brain, because he processes how _very unscientific_ that is before he processes how _absolutely fucked up_ it is.

As usual, Katara’s brain works faster. “There is _absolutely nothing wrong with my brother_. Nobody’s going to your bigoted workshops and we’re not buying your books, you. . . you BITCH!”

Did Katara just _swear?_

“Come on Sokka. We’re leaving.”

Katara bodily drags him away from the bookstore until they’re several yards away from the scene of the _worst conversation Sokka has ever experienced_. Aang and Toph follow along with the horses.

“What was all that about?” Aang looks concerned. Sokka feels the weight of a thousand bricks leave his chest. The glass, as it turns out, was soundproof.

“We, uh. . .” Katara looks at him helplessly. Sokka appreciates her willingness to not out him, but their lying skills are on par with one another. Her eyes fall on the book in his hands.

The book that is still in his hands. Outside of the bookstore. Great. He can work with this.

“I was stealing! Katara was making a distraction! I went into the Inner Fire bookstore and stole from them, because they’re awful land-stealing bigots and they deserve it!”

Toph whips her cane out and _hits him over the head_.

“You _stole_ from Inner Fire? _Without me?_ Come on! I would have made a way better distraction than Sugar Queen! We could have taken them for so much more! I can yell for _hours_ about braille! I could have made them call the manager! I could have “accidentally” knocked over _everything!”_

Sokka is more than happy to trade some pain in his head for pulling off his first successful lie of the day. “Sorry, Toph. It was an impulse move. Next time I plan on committing a crime against Inner Fire, I’ll cut you in on it.”

“Guys, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Aang shifts, hands in his pockets. “What if they come after you? Maybe you should go back and return the book now before they get you in trouble.”

Toph scoffs. “What are they gonna do? Call _Jet?_ ”

She has a point. Normally he’s against stealing from small businesses because they need the money and he needs to not be arrested. But Inner Fire _doesn’t_ need the money, and Jet is _useless_.

“Come on, guys. I’m sick of talking about Inner Fire. Let’s go to the North Pole, maybe Pakku will give us a discount!” Katara says. She’s clearly trying to lighten the mood, but it works, and the group gets moving again.

Pakku doesn’t give them a discount. Pakku never gives discounts. He gets grumpy about _samples_. How such a cranky man decided to run an _ice cream parlor_ is entirely beyond Sokka’s comprehension.

Aang and Katara order one milkshake with two straws, which is somehow not the worst thing that’s happened to Sokka today. He still uses it as an excuse to justify buying all the toppings he wants. Toph gets a sundae that is entirely disproportionate to her body size and eats the whole thing.

As the sky starts to get warm and orange, Sokka remembers that he has a shopping list that he still needs to get through and begs off. Aang offers to give Katara a ride home on Appa, and Sokka makes haste back to the jeep before he has to think about his best bro and little sister _literally riding off into the sunset together_.

%%%%%

Admiral Jeong Jeong’s Army Surplus is a ways out of town, but it’s still Sokka’s favorite shop in Avatar. It has emergency rations, a larger selection of knives than anyone needs, live grenades, parachutes, and is generally an _absolute madhouse_ of cool stuff.

It’s a miracle Dad trusts him to go in there with the company credit card.

The Admiral’s not behind the counter when Sokka steps into the shop, but that’s not unusual. If the door’s unlocked, the old man is around somewhere. Nobody here will _try_ to sell him anything. It’s just him in a giant room full of large piles of gear, and when he’s done he goes to the counter and yells. Then a cranky old man with a very unclear military service record individually judges all his purchases and lets him know if each item is “alright” or “dogshit not worth buying.” He pays for anything that’s alright and leaves the rest behind.

If he has a question about something before he’s ready to pay, he’ll yell for Chey. Chey will come out five minutes to ten minutes later _absolutely reeking of weed_ and tell him what he wants to know before retreating into the back again. Sokka’s not even sure if Chey works here.

It is, in Sokka’s opinion, the ideal shopping experience. In Jeong Jeong's, inspecting various types of rope, he is in paradise.

Which is why when the bell above the door jingles and he spots a flash of red, he slips through a veil of mosquito netting into a large display tent in the corner _(fits up to five, rain fly not included, sold as-is)._ This cannot be excused as tactical avoidance. He is hiding, in a dignified and manly fashion, because _nobody is ruining Jeong Jeong's for him_.

It’s Scowly McJerkface from the bar. Scowly McJerkface who always wears a big red hoodie and a gold, flame-shaped pendant like he's won first place in the Asshole Olympics. Scowly McJerkface who comes to Kyoshi’s every couple of weeks, drinks one beer alone in the corner staring at his phone, and leaves without talking to anyone. Sokka encourages Suki to kick him out sometimes, but Suki is of the opinion that a regular who doesn’t cause problems and tips well shouldn’t be bounced without justification. Sokka thinks _bringing down the vibe_ is a perfectly valid justification.

Now he’s bringing down the vibe in another one of Sokka’s favorite establishments. If he hadn’t met his quota of terrible Inner Fire encounters for the day already, he would be letting this jerk _have it_.

Instead, he hides. And maybe spies a little. No, he’s not spying. He’s conducting _vital reconnaissance_ on what is certainly _evil cult activity_.

Evil cult activity so far is inspecting various hunting knives. Probably intended for evil cult purposes. And rope. For similarly evil rope purposes. Is this guy planning to murder somebody?

A hunting knife and rope are on Sokka’s list too, but that’s different. His purchases are for _survival purposes._

Sokka hopes that Scowly doesn’t snap up all the quality rope, but that seems less and less likely as he picks random items up and puts them down again. Sometimes it’s the same item twice in a row, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to what he’s looking for. Clifford the Big Red Downer puts down a parachute and runs a hand through his hair, letting his hood fall as he inspects an assortment of duffel bags.

Sir Frowns-a-Lot is _pretty_. Sokka tries to correct his traitorous brain. But when he’s cast in profile against the warm golden sunset, it’s hard not to notice that the Vibe Destroyer is a damn handsome man. He’s got high cheekbones and a soft furrow to his brow that make him look less angry and more deep in thought. His hair looks smooth and touchable and Sokka is now blaming this train of thought on a contact high from whatever Chey’s doing in the back.

The bell above the door rings again, and Tragic Mike turns to face the entrance, revealing the _craziest scar Sokka has ever seen_. It’s right over his eye, covering the top quarter of his face and disappearing into his hairline. Sokka’s seen the results of a lot of gnarly accidents working in the outdoor adventure industry, but he can’t begin to imagine what would cause something like _that_.

“Seriously?”

A girl in flowing maroon robes stands in the doorway, glaring at Sokka’s new nemesis.

“She just started letting you out again. Now you’re pulling stunts like this?”

He turns back to the knife display and picks up one that’s he’s looked at three times already. There’s the scowl Sokka knows. “I don’t need you to babysit me.” His voice is low and raspy.

“You could at least stick to approved locations.” She moves to stand next to him, gazing down at the knives with something resembling interest. “If you keep sneaking off, you’re going to lose privileges again.”

“Does she know I’m here?” Scowly turns his head away, towards _him_. Sokka freezes, thinking his position has been compromised, but Stranger Anger’s _very gold eyes_ slip over his hiding place to glare at a display of body armor.

Her arm moves up _fast_ and bops him upside the head. For all her speed, the actual contact looks gentle. “Your cover is my cover. As long as I’m your _girlfriend_ , I’m going to look out for you.”

 _Girlfriend._ Now there’s some vital reconnaissance information. Why does Mr. Sourface never bring his _girlfriend_ to Kyoshi’s? Is it not an _approved location_? What’s an approved location? Why does she say _girlfriend_ like she’s trying to get popcorn out of her teeth?

“I... I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to be stuck with me.” He leans on the knife case, bowing his head. He’s looking everywhere else but his _girlfriend_.

“I don’t want your apologies. How often do we get what we really want?”

Sokka’s front-row view of the most _depressing relationship ever_ is interrupted by Jeong Jeong emerging the back.

“ _Hey_!” he barks. They both jump and level equally unimpressed stares at the raggedy Admiral. “I got the right to refuse service. Y’all cult freaks get the _hell_ out of my outfit!”

If Sokka thought Scowly was scowly before, he is now witnessing a new achievement in the possible angriness of human facial expression. Mount Furious turns and storms out of the shop, shoving over a stack of parachutes on his way out. The _girlfriend_ pauses, giving Jeong Jeong a flat look.

“Whatever.” She turns on her heel and follows Angry Bird out.

Sokka waits for Jeong Jeong to meander to the back again before grabbing items from his list at random. When he goes to pay half of them are dogshit, but Sokka’s brain is spinning from the implications of what he just witnessed, and he buys them anyways. He doesn’t need Jeong Jeong’s scrutiny right now. He needs to get out of here and _think_.

On the drive home, he reflects on the personal encounters with Inner Fire he’s had today. Ty Lee was thrilled to share the shiny happy achievements of her organization with him. The ableist sidewalk asshole seemed to think he owned every inch of Avatar and didn’t hesitate to let them know it.

Scowly clearly isn’t getting any of the inner enlightenment or political power that the other weirdos around town are enjoying. If he’s so miserable, why doesn’t he just _leave?_

 _He’s Inner Fire, and Inner Fire is the_ enemy _,_ Sokka thinks. _Why do I care?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how this chapter happened so fast but I know I do I not sleep a lot. 
> 
> Fun fact: In the original outline I had for this story, Jet's job as a cop was very relevant to plot and he was featured in several important scenes. Now I'm not sure if he's ever gonna show up onscreen, but boy howdy am I still gonna take every opportunity I get to dunk on Jet. 
> 
> Another fun fact: The original transition between Main Street and Jeong Jeong's involved Toph leaving because The Boulder couldn't guide her around after dark. Then I realized I had to look up whether horses could navigate at night, and it turns out they can! That rabbit hole lead to one of the most hilarious paragraphs I have ever read in a scientific article, which I feel compelled to share with you all:
> 
> “The researchers further noted that even in extremely low light levels, when the horses could no longer distinguish precise shapes, they could still negotiate their way around the enclosure and testing equipment. Meanwhile, the human experimenters, during their occasional visits inside the testing area (they were only very rarely in the enclosure, for the purpose of conducting equipment maintenance), stumbled into walls, apparatus, pylons, and even the horse itself at times.”
> 
> Tune in next time for drama at Kyoshi's, local politics, and our two heroes actually talking to each other for the first time.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, please review!


	3. “In a culture, manners are the lubrication that ease the frictions of social contacts.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko meets a cat. Sokka meets Zuko. Toph does politics. Zuko does indoor parkour.

Sokka is in the uncomfortable position of needing advice. Normally, this is a time to pull Dad aside and say he needs a “man-to-man chat,” and let Dad _listen_ and help him work through stuff.

This, unfortunately, is not a problem he can bring to Dad.

Or his sister. Or Aang, who would normally be a perfect sounding board, but is now compromised as a possible pipeline of information to his sister. Theoretically he could go to Toph, but 99% of the time Toph’s advice is either _nut up and tell ‘em_ or _do it if you want to_. 99% of the time she’s right about either option, but this falls into the 1% exception where there’s not really anything to say or do.

Which is why he’s strolling into Kyoshi’s at 8pm. It’s blessedly empty, and Suki grins at him as she loads ice into the wells trough.

“SUKI!” he shouts, throwing his hands in the air. She accepts a hug across the bar and pours him his regular IPA without being asked.

“You’re here early. Need to talk?” Suki is the _best_. He hangs his bag on the hook under the bar and pulls up a stool.

“Need advice,” he says, flipping a nickel onto the bar. It bounces once and sticks. “Nickel for your thoughts?”

“Isn’t it supposed to be a penny?” It is, but Sokka had to work with what he had.

“Your thoughts are worth more.”

Suki laughs, swiping up the nickel and dropping it in the tip jar. “Lay it on me.”

“Say there’s this hypothetical guy. And say this guy really, really likes women. It’s a certain fact.” He doesn’t _need_ to emphasize this to the woman he spent most of his late teens having acrobatic sex with, but questioning one’s sexuality in front of one’s ex requires a certain amount of finesse. “This guy has enjoyed the company of women before, and he is secure and confident in himself. But one night, this hypothetical guy, he does something. Our hero is in a party environment, having fun, and suddenly there’s a different way to have fun proposed to him and he—”

“Hooks up with Haru?”

“SUKI!” This is not his excited Suki yell. This is his _outraged_ Suki yell. “Did Katara tell you?”

Oh. Oh no. He has been keeping this from her for a while. One of his best friends in the world, and she has _known_ , but he didn’t know that _she_ knew, but she _did_ and she also _knew_ that he wasn’t telling her. He needs to shift gears from outrage mode to apology mode but he didn’t press on the brain-clutch and now the gears are _grinding_.

“I hear _everyone’s_ troubles. It’s the bartender’s burden.”

Dammit, Haru.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Are you mad? Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad. I figured you would talk about it in your own time.” Suki leans forward and pats him on the shoulder before pursing her lips. “Did you hook up with him again? Because if you don’t want to be with him, it’s really not okay to lead him on.”

“No! No! That is not a thing that will be happening again ever. There will be no more Haru shenanigans.” Dammit. Asking for advice is a lot harder when it’s not hypothetical anymore. “It’s just... I told Katara.”

“How’d that go?”

“It was an accident? I mean, not really.”

Now there needs to be more explanations. Far more explanations than originally intended. He should have known better than to try to have a _talk_. He’s the _action_ guy. He spills the whole story out in one long run-on sentence.

“That’s... good?” Suki tilts her head, brows furrowed.

“No! I mean, good on Katara. But she’s gonna have follow-up questions eventually, and I don’t know how to answer them.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Questions like ‘ _are you gay?’_ or ‘ _are you not gay?’_ that I don’t really know how to answer!” He groans and puts his forehead down on the bar. Suki is bisexual. He knows that. He knows there’s a girl at the brewery two towns over and that they have an _arrangement_ that nets her a significant discount on seasonal craft beers. But that’s _Suki’s_ life, not his. “I know those aren’t the only options.”

Suki grabs a couple of wells bottles and starts burying them in ice. “If I’m hearing you right, it sounds like you feel like you have to put a label on it.”

“Yes! I mean, not the Haru part with the hookup and with the many attempted booty calls.” Sokka unsticks his head from the bar, rubbing his forehead to try to get off any gross residuals. “It’s just— I’m just a guy that had sex with a guy once, and maybe would again? If that guy wasn’t Haru? And I don’t know if there’s a word for that.”

“Sokka, you don’t need a word.” Suki wets a rag and leans across the bar to clean his forehead.

“I don’t?”

She passes the rag to him and he starts scrubbing it over his hands. “I mean, I understand if you want to have a word, or if you’ve found one that makes you feel comfortable. I call myself bisexual, and I’m comfortable with that. But if that’s not something you’re comfortable with, you don’t have to put that on yourself. If that’s what you’re worried about, just tell your sister you don’t have a word for it and you don’t want one.”

That... makes a lot of sense. That uncomplicates things.

“I don’t have to have a word.” He says it out loud, just to make the concept a little more real. “This was really, really helpful. Thank you. I’m... I'm gonna get some air.”

She leans forward across the bar and kisses him on the cheek. “Coming back? The others said they’d be here tonight.”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I just wanna take a walk.” He hands her back the rag and stands up.

“I’ll be here.”

He knows she’ll be there. She always is. “Thanks, Suki.”

“Anytime.”

%%%%%%

He wanders out of Kyoshi’s, circling the building to the trails behind the main road. He clicks his flashlight on and starts to amble down one of the trails behind the building. He doesn’t get very far before he hears rustling and wood snapping a few yards off the trail.

Shit. His bag is in the bar. His bear mace is in the bag. If this is a bear situation, he needs to start backing up slowly, _now._

Except bears don’t carry flashlights, and there is a small light swinging several feet in the air. And bears don’t swear. Confident that he’s no longer in a bear situation, Sokka approaches.

He’s at the Burnt Oak, he realizes. And someone’s _in_ the Burnt Oak. He shines his light up at the source of the unsavory language and freezes.

Scowly McJerkface is in the Burnt Oak. More accurately, he’s _stuck_ in the Burnt Oak. He’s about ten feet up, and one of his legs is all the way inside of the trunk while the other is kicking around to find purchase on the mossy bark. He’s hanging onto the trunk with one arm while the other shields his eyes from Sokka’s flashlight. His stupid gold flame pendant glints in the light.

How is this guy _everywhere?_

“Hey there.” Sokka lowers his flashlight a few feet to rest on Scowly’s midsection, where a penlight clipped to his belt is swinging wildly as he tries to thrash his way out of his predicament. “Watcha doin’?”

He glares down at Sokka. “What does it _look_ like I’m doing?”

There is no good reason to climb the Burnt Oak, let alone at night. Everyone knows it’s not a safe climbing tree. “Honestly, buddy? No idea.”

Well, almost everyone.

“Just go away.” Normally, Sokka would be happy to run off and let him enlighten his way to freedom or whatever. But without help, dude is probably going to break his own leg and get stranded in the woods and eaten by a bear.

Just because Sokka doesn’t like him doesn’t mean he’s gonna leave him to _die._

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing up there!”

Just because Sokka’s gonna help the guy doesn’t mean he’s not gonna make fun of him for being an idiot who climbed the Burnt Oak.

“The cat’s stuck.” As if on cue, something higher in the tree lets out a long yowl. Sokka raises his flashlight to reveal a pile of orange fur and a pair of glowing eyes near the top of the tree.

Sokka laughs. He laughs so hard that he drops his light and tears come to his eyes.

“Dude, that’s Chin the Conqueror. He’s not stuck, he’s just an asshole. He’ll come down when he’s good and ready.”

This does nothing to improve Scowly’s disposition. There’s a rustle that sounds like more useless flailing. “Just GO AWAY!”

This guy does _not_ need an airhorn if he wants to scare away wildlife. He’s got some pipes on him. Sokka didn’t think anyone could be as loud as his sister.

“Even if he was stuck, why would you climb _the Burnt Oak?”_ he picks his light back up and shines it at Scowly. “It got struck by lightning a few years back and burned up from the inside. It’s totally hollow and _definitely_ not safe.”

“I know that _now_ ,” he replies through gritted teeth.

“Hang in there, champ.” Sokka turns and jogs down the trail. He’s gonna need Suki’s ladder.

As he makes his way back to Kyoshi’s, the asshole that _is_ stuck in the tree calls out to him. “Wait! Come back!”

He will, but he’s not going to waste his breath explaining that.

Getting ahold of a ladder is as simple as slipping in through the back door of Kyoshi’s and grabbing it out of the utility closet. Luckily, Suki doesn’t need anything from the back and doesn’t catch him in the act of ladder-borrowing. This hilarious story is gonna be his alone to tell.

Or keep for himself. Whichever one he wants. That’s the beauty of a solo adventure.

As he makes his way back towards the Burnt Oak, stepladder under his arm, he feels a tiny shred of guilt for not reassuring Scowly that he’s coming back. He hopes he hasn’t hurt himself trying to get free.

Sure enough, when he rounds the bend Scowly is still flailing around in a losing battle against nature and physics. Chin the Conqueror yowls from the tree as Sokka approaches.

“Shut UP!”

Sokka has lost enough sleep trying to get Chin to stop holding nighttime symphonies outside his window. The asshole _thrives_ on human distress. “That’s Chin the Conquerer, dude. He’s not going to shut up.”

Scowly looks down when Sokka approaches and his good eye widens.

“You came back.” Master of the obvious, this one.

Sokka sets the ladder up beneath the Burnt Oak, and Scowly immediately tries to plant his foot on it and lift himself out. The ladder wobbles precariously.

“Hold on, dude. Don’t hurt yourself, I’m coming to you.” Sokka moves the ladder a few inches, wiggling it experimentally to make sure the legs are stably nested between the Burnt Oak’s roots. Once he’s sure that it’s not going anywhere, he starts to climb.

The guy narrows his eyes suspiciously as Sokka gets level with his face. “What are you doing?” Does this dude not understand the concept of _help?_

“Get your free foot on the ladder, put your arms around me, and lean. I’m gonna try to lift you out.” He slowly complies. Sokka really hopes the ladder holds. There’s a _much_ safer way to do this that involves harnesses, a net, and at least two extra people, but a man’s got to work with what he has.

What he has is his arms full of apparently _very built_ cult weirdo. That baggy hoody is hiding some serious muscle. Serious muscle that gets stuck in trees trying to help asshole cats that are not stuck in trees. Which, when he thinks about it, is pretty cute. 

Scowly’s big necklace slash pendant slash not-as-much-of-a-jerk-as-you-could-have-been award presses into Sokka’s chest, and he remembers that these are traitor thoughts. This is the _enemy_.

No reason to waste a perfect opportunity to get information from the enemy.

“What are you doing here, anyways?” He asks, gently attempting to heave the guy out of the tree. “Is Kyoshi’s an _approved location?”_

Scowly goes rigid. “I was coming to get a drink. Got a problem with that?”

“You’re here _all the time_. Try to turn your leg so you’re facing me. Are you scouting it for takeover or something?” Inner Jerk manages to move his leg a little, pulling his lower body flush with Sokka’s. _Vital reconnaissance_ , he thinks to himself. _Nothing more_.

He really hopes his body remembers that too.

“It’s the _only bar in town_. I came to get a _drink_. You’re here all the time too.” Sokka pulls again and gets a little movement.

“I live here!”

“So do I.”

Sokka is 23 years old and he is _not_ going to shout _I was here first_. He is going to _continue with the mission_.

He moves his foot up a rung at a snail’s pace and grabs a branch in reach for leverage. “What, you’re not gonna try to sign me up for a seminar or bring me back to your little compound to _maximize my inner potential?_ ”

He lifts, and the guy’s leg comes free to above the knee. They both sway as the guy slowly pulls his leg free and joins him on the ladder. “Maybe you don’t _have_ any inner potential.”

He is _not_ going to shove this guy off the ladder. Primarily because doing so would probably cause him to fall too. Sure, he’s didn’t go to college. And never left his hometown. And still lives with his dad. That doesn’t mean he _couldn’t_ do something else. He just chose not to.

 _This what you get for helping jerks,_ Sokka thinks. _You do a nice thing and then they’re jerks to you for it_.

They precariously make their way down the ladder in a tangle of angry limbs. Sokka jumps free as soon as he’s a safe distance from the ground and wipes his hands on his pants to get any lingering traces of _ungrateful asshole_ off of him.

“There. You’re free. If you don’t want to talk to me, you don’t have to. You can get the hell out of here. Are you happy now?”

Dickbag in Distress gives him an inscrutable kind of _look_. “I’m never happy.”

With that, Avatar’s resident Bitchy Cryptid stalks off down the trail and into the night. There’s a rustle in the branches, and Chin the Conqueror jumps down and follows him.

“You’re welcome!” Sokka shouts after them.

At least he didn’t follow Sokka into Kyoshi’s. It’s the only place open this late and he does _not_ want to share a bar with that asshole tonight. He folds up the ladder and heads back to repress his feelings with alcohol.

It occurs to him as he gets to the parking lot of Kyoshi’s that the only cars in the parking lot are his and Suki’s, although The Boulder and Appa are now hitched to the post by the door.

Did that guy _walk here?_ The Inner Fire complex is _miles_ away. That had to have taken him a couple of hours.

 _Whatever_. _Let him walk. If a bear eats him, that’s Inner Fire’s problem, and I’m not going to answer any questions if they come asking around about –_

He really should get his name one of these days.

Or not. He doesn’t need it. Dude can stay all mysterious and vanish into the night like Batman for all he cares. Sokka has a ladder to return.

%%%%%%

The mid-morning sunlight filters through the kitchen in the home lodge. Sokka’s nursing his third cup of coffee and fighting back a headache, because he doesn’t have self-control when Suki says _have another, on the house_.

Thank god Katara was sober enough to drive the jeep home, although she did give him a death glare before having a _way-too-long_ goodbye makeout with Aang. Sokka tries not to think about how often she goes to the Bei Fong Estate and doesn’t come back until the next morning.

He knows he should be offering to help Katara and Gran-Gran with the dishes, but getting up is _impossible_ right now. The only thing that got him out of bed in the first place was Katara threatening to dump his breakfast in the river.

Dad is sitting next to him, completing his morning ritual of commenting out loud on _every single article_ in _The Avatar Statesman_. As usual, Sokka gets the funny pages when Dad is done with them. He chuckles at one of them, and Dad looks up.

“Leaf me alone, I’m bushed! That one was good.” Dad smiles and _hrms_ in approval.

The ritual of Morning Family Time is interrupted by Dad suddenly gripping the paper so hard that it rips at the edges. Katara turns from oiling the cast-iron and frowns.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

He folds the paper over and lays it down on the table. _Uh-oh_ , Sokka thinks. Whatever he’s read has pissed Dad off royally, and they’re about to hear about it. In detail.

“Mayor Zhao,” he begins, which is a terrible way to begin anything, “is trying to pass a law at the next town council meeting. He wants to ban people from riding horses on any public road or trail. He says unrestricted travel by horse is dangerous to hikers and pedestrians.”

“What?!” Katara shouts, slamming the pan down on the countertop. “He can’t _do that!”_

Sokka thinks guilty thoughts about Toph’s last encounter with Inner Fire. He maybe should have restrained himself from flipping the bird.

Dad frowns. “Well, if a majority of the aldermen vote to make it so, they can. Lao’s obviously not going to go for it, but Qin’s Inner Fire. It’ll come down to Arnook, Kuei, and Fong.”

Sokka tightens his grip on his mug. “They’re going after Toph,” he says quietly.

“Not just Toph,” Dad replies. “They’ve been trying to get the Bei Fongs to join ever since they moved in. They’re going for the _money_ , and they’re going through Toph to get it.”

Katara abandons the dishes to take a seat at the table. “It doesn’t matter who they’re going after. We’re going to town council,” she says, grabbing the paper away from Dad. “And we’re going to fight this.”

Dad frowns at her. “Leave it to me, honey. I’ll gather up the local business owners and get them to start putting pressure on the aldermen. The Commerce Board should have enough pull to beat this back.”

“Then let me help! I can call up everyone from school who’s still here, we’ll get a youth coalition going.” She pulls out her phone, already scrolling through her contacts. “We can meet up at Kyoshi’s and put together some talking points, canvas to get bodies in the door, and— Oh! We’ll organize a protest. Right outside of Inner Fire’s gates. We’ll let them _know_ we’re not going to take it anymore.”

“I think you’re moving too fast, honey.” Dad pinches the bridge of his nose. “Getting too loud about it in public might lead to Inner Fire retaliating against y— against the youth. We want the town to stay safe for you kids.”

Katara slams her hands down on the table. “I’m not a kid anymore! _I’m_ going to be a business owner in this town too! Toph’s school works with people with mental disabilities, and as a social worker I have an obligation to advocate on behalf of my future clients!”

“I know that, Katara. I want your practice to _succeed_. Getting on Inner Fire’s bad side might get in the way of that.”

Sokka’s gaze ping-pongs back and forth between his Dad and his sister. He’s never seen them argue like this before. Not even when she was dating _Jet_.

“Arnook and I are already talking details about setting up the practice space! And my business plan is _solid_. Right, Sokka?”

He stares down into his coffee. He’s seen the plan, and it is solid. She’ll have a monopoly on mental health services in town and a regular seasonal cash influx if Arnook’s customers buy into the whole therapeutic tourism thing.

On the one hand, his sister is smart and capable and Sokka believes she can do just about _anything_. On the other hand, Dad knows how this town works inside and out, and he’s usually just... _right_.

He takes a breath. “I _do_ think we should fight it. And it should be more than just the business owners.” Dad gives him a _look_. “But Inner Fire might go after you just for setting up your practice in the first place. They don’t believe in psychiatry. They think it’s one of the most evil things that’s happened to modern society.”

Okay, so he’s been reading the book he stole. Sue him. It’s _vital reconnaissance_.

“All the more reason for you to stay off their radar, sweetie. Going after them too publicly would make you a target.” He wasn’t trying to side with either of them, but Dad seems to think he’s got Sokka in his corner now.

From the glare Katara is leveling at him, she thinks so too. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to just roll over and let Inner Fire take over the town! _You’ve_ been here the whole time, what have _you_ been doing about it?”

That stings. Sokka’s face flushes. There’s a lot he could say right now, like _pulling Dad out from the bottom of the bottle_ or _running the business basically by myself for years,_ he thinks bitterly.

But that’s ancient history, and Sokka’s not going to hurt his Dad just gain points against his sister. “I’ve been gathering information! I stole that book!”

“I’m sure they’re really hurting for it,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Have you gathered any _useful_ information?”

He realizes that pretty much all of the information he’s gathered thus far has to do with Avatar’s local Man of Mystery. Very little of it has to do with Inner Fire itself.

Not that he’s going to tell his _very angry sister_ that.

“I’m still gathering it! Not to mention, I’ve been here _helping dad_ keep the business alive while you’ve been off in the city learning to talk and getting oogie with Aang!”

Sokka might not be willing to hurt Dad to score points, but if she’s going to fight dirty, he will too.

“You were the one that _told me to go_! And don’t you _dare_ bring Aang into this! He’s been hurt by Inner Fire more than anyone!”

“ _Enough_!” Dad shouts. Sokka and Katara both jump. Dad _never_ yells.

“Inner Fire is already tearing this town apart,” he continues quietly. “I will _not_ let it tear my family apart any more than it already has. Katara, if you want to talk about how to _safely_ organize the community in an adult manner, I’m happy to discuss it with you. Sokka, you have a two-day reservation tomorrow. Are you prepared?”

He isn’t. He’s going to have to set up the activity checkpoints and gather all the supplies before it gets too dark.

“I _would have been_ if somebody had _told me about it!”_ He jumps up from the table, knocking over his chair.

Katara winces. “I was just...”

“Busy? Well _so am I_.”

Sokka is a mature adult man, but that doesn’t stop him from slamming the door on his way out.

%%%%%%

The next morning finds Sokka parked behind the counter in the visitor’s lodge with his feet up, reading _Mastering the Blue Flame_ while he waits for Mushi Atman to get there.

_Any person below 3.0 on the Temperature Scale should not have, in any thinking society, any civil rights of any kind. By abusing those rights, he brings into being arduous laws which are oppressive to those who need no such restraints. Those who fail to achieve great Inner Temperature suppress their Inner Flame to soothe their wounds. A person’s wounds, both physical and mental, stem from their failures. If you wish to achieve greatness, you cannot grant them sympathy. Granting those of Low Temperature sympathy not only greets their failure with reward, but lowers you to their state, smothering your own Inner Flame in the process._

If he didn’t think these people were crazy and evil before, he certainly does now. He thinks of Dad, struggling with addiction and rising above it. He thinks of Suki, rallying from the death of her parents to take over Kyoshi’s and _still_ pursuing her dreams. He thinks of Katara and Toph, working their asses off to help people in need. He’s been there for them, they’ve been there for him, and that makes all of them _stronger_.

He snorts. _It’s almost like these people don’t believe in community._

The bell rings and he jumps up, throwing the book down on the counter. “Welcome to Wolf River Adventures! I’m Sokka, and I’ll be your _YOU!_ ”

It’s Avatar’s local Tree-Climbing Asshole. The other one, not Chin the Conqueror. He’s standing on the welcome mat with one foot out the door, apparently frozen in shock.

Stop. Done. Think. This guy is a jerk who says _hurtful things for no good reason_ , but he’s also a paying customer. Observe. If he doesn’t take him on the course, he has to give him a refund. Plan.

He takes a deep breath and steps out from behind the counter. “I will be your guide on a two-day wilderness adventure that will teach you basic skills about how to survive and seek help if you’re stranded in the wild. We will _not_ be climbing any trees. Before we begin, we’ll need to go through some quick paperwork.”

He turns and grabs the clipboard a little too quickly, knocking the book onto the floor. Sokka looks down at it. The Ash-hole looks down at it. Azula Sozin smiles up at both of them.

His least favorite paying customer turns around and _bolts_. By the time Sokka processes what just happened and tries to go after him, the guy is past the parking lot and out of sight. Dude is _fast_.

Sokka could jump in the jeep and try to catch up to him, but something tells him this is not a guy that travels by main roads. He can’t remember a single time he’s seen him on the street.

Just because he can’t _find_ him doesn’t mean he’s not gonna call him. He showed up this time, and Sokka doesn’t know what the hell just happened, but he’s gonna find out what the hell has Scarface so spooked.

Scarface. Approved locations. Losing privileges. _A person’s wounds, both physical and mental, stem from their failures._

He has a sinking feeling he knows already.

He grabs the signup form, punches in the number, and sends a text. He gets an error text back saying the recipient is a landline and his message didn’t go through. He tries calling. To his surprise, somebody answers.

“Hello?” This is not the raspy voice he knows. It’s deep and smooth.

“Hi, I’m trying to reach, um, Mushi Atman?” That cannot be this guy’s real name. _Mushi? Seriously?_

A pause from the other end of the line. “Who knocks at the garden gate?”

_What._

“Um... This is Sokka Nilak, with Wolf River Adventures? I’m trying to get in touch with Mushi. He put this number down on a signup form. He was here just a second ago, but then he left. I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“I think there has, young man. This is Piandao’s Blades. We’re a sword shop in Ba Sing Se. I’m afraid I cannot help you locate anyone in Avatar.”

“Oh. He must have given me the wrong number. Sorry to bother you.”

“I doubt he did. It’s no trouble at all. Good luck finding a friend.”

There’s a click, and the call ends.

 _Who knocks at the garden gate_? _Good luck finding a friend?_ Who talks like that? How did he know Sokka was calling from Avatar? How has this _not_ been the weirdest conversation he’s had this week?

He goes back to the signup form. He’s listed _Sokka_ as his emergency contact. He didn’t even list his _last name_.

His instincts tell him he might have another way to reach this guy.

To: Li Cobalt [7:35am]

_Dude. Come back._

From: Li Cobalt [7:35am]

_Error 30004 – SMS not deliverable – Blocked_

Well, shit.

%%%%%%

It’s getting to be that time of year where the weather is _unpredictable_. “If you don’t like it wait five minutes” unpredictable. Gran-gran sent him out for groceries in a sweatshirt, and he’s sweaty and regret-y about it as he walks down the strip.

Wan Shi Tong’s Groceries and More _(we who sell ten thousand things!)_ is air-conditioned more than any building has a right to be, but outside the noonday sun has changed the world to t-shirt weather. If his luck keeps up, it’ll be raining by time he gets back to camp.

Which makes him all the more outraged that Katara _insisted_ it was her right to take the jeep to go see Aang, because _Aang could just ride the damn horse to her_. She made all sorts of noise about visibility and how _if anything happened it would just make everything worse_ because of Inner Fire they’d all feel terrible.

The Boulder is hitched outside of the Jasmine Dragon, and Sokka’s gonna stop and have a _friendly conversation._ Because Toph is his friend. Rubbing it in his sister’s face will just be a perk.

He slips in front of the hitching post to see Toph sitting at a table with an old man, having tea. He tries to wave at her over the guy’s shoulder before he realizes that’s no way to get Toph’s attention. He takes a moment to be grateful that she _didn’t_ see him, because she would never let him live that down.

“Hey Toph!” he shouts instead.

“Snoozles!” she shouts back. The man looks back at him with a friendly smile. “This is Iroh. He’s the new owner of the Jasmine Dragon. I was just talking to him about the importance of his hitching post.”

Sokka wonders not for the first time if Toph actually has more teeth in her mouth than the average human body does. Science suggests she does not, but the sheer menace in her smile does.

“Do come join us, young man.” Sokka comes around the table to stand next to Toph, but he doesn’t sit. “I’m truly impressed by your young friend’s accomplishments, as well as her commitment to helping others. It is always a great thing to share one’s blessings.”

“Sorry, can’t stay too long. Gran-gran needs the groceries for dinner. I’m Sokka. Is this an Inner Fire outfit?” He’s had one question about this place ever since he saw that damn sign, and he’s not gonna let the eggs go bad with small talk if anyone’s going to start bringing up his _potential_.

The old man chuckles. “My, aren’t you forthright.” Sokka narrows his eyes in suspicion. “I understand that this town has undergone many changes, but I’m just an old man trying to live out his dream in his retirement.”

That was _not_ an answer.

“Running a business is a lot of work for retirement.”

Toph swings her foot out wide and kicks him in the shin. “We were just talking about how local businesses around here have to have each other’s backs. A little place like this, community is important.”

Oh. She’s doing _politics_. No wonder she’s agreed to drink hot tea in this weather.

“And what a wonderful community it is!” Iroh exclaims, refilling her cup. “A perfect place to live out one’s golden years.”

“What brings you to our little community?” he asks. “Do you have family in the area?”

Iroh looks down at his tea with a melancholy expression. “I certainly hope so.”

 _Nope._ Nope nope nope. Sokka has had it up to _here_ with cryptic and weird. Toph seems to be handling herself just fine and not appreciating the interruption, so he leaves her to it.

“Well, gotta get back. You know, groceries and all. Nice meeting you, enjoy your tea!”

“I always do!”

“Later, Snoozles.”

As he hits the road back to Wolf River, he wonders if anything in this town will ever be normal again.

%%%%%%

It’s a shitty Friday night, but they still go out. Toph begs off because storms spook The Boulder. But Aang is hopefully optimistic that Kyoshi’s will be packed, so he bribes Sokka and Katara by offering to drive home.

Aang always drives, but it works. The rain is so thick that the outline of Wolf River’s bright blue jeep in their sweet parking spot right out front is barely visible through the window. The sweet parking spot they got because the place is _dead_.

Katara suggests taking a couple shots and leaving, but Suki needs the business and that’s all the reason the more reason to stay. They end up parked at their usual table, surrounded by empties and having the same argument they’ve been having ever since Katara got back.

Sokka pounds his fist on the table. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m not gonna believe it ‘til I see it.”

“ _I’ve_ seen it!” Aang replies indignantly. “Katara and Toph believe me!”

“Toph is _blind_. How would she know? Katara, have _you_ seen it?”

“No, but I believe that Aang’s seen it.” Sisters. The _worst_.

“Would you believe Aang if he told you he saw Bigfoot in the woods?” 

Katara smiles wanly at him. “Sokka, chipmunks are real.”

Sokka is a man of _science_. He trusts Aang, but he’s spent his whole life running through the woods around Wolf River. Believing something’s out there just because someone told you they saw it once is how you get hoards of crazed tourists chasing a fantasy.

Which is to say he would 100% believe and repeat Aang’s story if he thought he could turn a buck off of it.

“If an albino chipmunk were running around in these woods, it would be walking Lunchable for predators. A snack pack. A light-up sign shouting _‘free dinner here!’_ It wouldn’t last a week!”

“Momo’s not a Lunchable!” Aang pouts. “He’s my friend! Maybe you don’t see him because you don’t leave nuts out for the chipmunks!”

“No, I don’t! Because that’s how you get a hoard of regular chipmunks, and that’s how you get snakes! Katara, tell him about the snakes!”

“I haven’t seen any snakes at the Bei Fong Estate either.”

“Well maybe you’re just not one with nature like I am,” Sokka says.

Katara’s face flushes and her eyes narrow. He thinks for a minute he’s gone too far, but she’s not looking at him. She’s looking at the door over his shoulder. He hopes she’s not looking at Jet. He always checks to make sure Aang’s not drinking even though he’s a _monk_ , and if Toph’s around there’s usually some bribery required. He never fails to bring down the mood.

He turns to look. It’s definitely not Jet.

Mushi/Li/Grumpy Cat walks in dripping wet and settles into his booth in the back corner. Katara is making _murder eyes_ at him and Sokka has a feeling this is going to be an _incident_.

“You know,” he tries to say both quietly and nonchalantly, “Suki has a whole thing about not driving off paying customers.”

She glares at him. “Too bad Inner Fire doesn’t have a _thing_ about not driving off _the people who live here_.”

“If it bothers you that much, I’ll go talk to him.” he offers. He wants to talk to him about the whole _you came to my camp and then ran away_ thing, but Katara yelling is almost certainly going to lead to more running away.

God knows it has that effect on him.

“I don’t need _anyone_ to talk _for me_ , and I have plenty to say!” Uh-oh. Both pitch and volume rising. And Katara physically rising.

“Or we could just leave him alone?” Aang is trying to help. Sokka knows he is. But that’s just going to make Katara feel like they’re ganging up on her, which is not going to help _at all_.

Sokka desperately tries to catch Suki’s eye from the table, but it’s Jeong Jeong’s whiskey night. He’s camped out at the end of the bar holding all of her attention with what is surely an intense discussion about combat techniques.

“No, really! I’ll talk to him. We have stuff to talk about. Remember those bailed reservations? Pretty sure both of them were him. So I should handle that.”

He’s trying to do damage control. He fails.

“ _Really,”_ Katara says, pulling away from the table. “How _interesting_.”

She marches up the booth and plants her hands down on the table, causing Stranger Anger to look up from his phone and scowl more than usual.

He looks like a _wreck_.

“What?” he snaps.

“Seriously? It’s not enough that you’re taking over our town, you come to _my family’s_ business and waste _my brother’s_ time? Who do you think you are?”

Sokka trades panicked eye contact with Aang. Suki is usually very patient with their antics, but even her patience only goes so far.

“I’m not taking over anything!”

“ _Bullshit!_ My boyfriend over there? He’s a monk.” She flings a pointing finger back at Aang, who looks like he very much would like to be anywhere else right now. “Or he used to be, back when there was a monastery here. He lost his _home_ because of you people. You live your lives on _stolen land_ , and it’s still not enough for you!”

Suki starts making her way out from behind the bar. Sokka has to intervene before Katara gets them all kicked out.

“I didn’t do _any of that!”_

“You think you’re not responsible just because you _joined up later_?”

“ _Katara_.” Sokka crosses the room and grabs her arm, and she turns her furious murder eyes on _him_.

Why does he always end up being the subject of her Inner Fire rages?

“And you! You’re going to defend him? After everything they’ve done to this town? You know, Mom went missing right when _they_ moved in. Who’s to say Inner Fire didn’t take _her_ from us too?”

That hits somewhere _weird_. Like the emotional equivalent of a funny bone, except it’s not funny at all. Mom’s disappearance (after all these years, he still can’t even think the word _death)_ is a box that’s sealed up in the back of his brain where he _does not touch it_.

Suki crosses the bar and comes to put a hand on Sokka’s shoulder. She levels a stern look usually reserved for cutting people off at his sister. “Katara, you’re being unreasonable.”

He hopes Suki’s willing to fight, because there is no statement better designed to make his sister start throwing hands than _you're being unreasonable_. Sokka is in the middle of trying to think of any kind of de-escalation strategy when Mushi/Li/Red Man Talking pipes up.

“She might not be.”

 _What_.

Katara’s eyes widen and her jaw drops open, but no words come out. In Sokka’s memory, the moment stretches out forever. He knows intellectually that it could only be a few seconds, but those seconds feel like they’re encased in a glass bubble that exists outside of time.

Reality snaps back into place as headlights flash through the front window. As if the universe is claiming its right to eternity back, everything that comes next seems to happen all at once.

Jeong Jeong knocks over his glass.

Mushi and/or Li looks out the window, and he looks _afraid_.

Sokka follows his gaze and a sees the rain-blurred outline of a red SUV in the parking lot.

Murder He Implied _vaults_ over the table and out of the booth, knocking Katara to the ground. He proceeds to do what can only be described as _indoor parkour_ across the room until he’s cleared the bar and vanished out the back door.

Two men built like brick shithouses and dressed head-to-toe in rain-spattered Inner Fire crimson walk into the bar. It seems like the beginning of a bad joke, but Sokka knows it’s the _middle_ of a bad joke, and that joke is _his life_.

They look around, taking in the frozen aftermath of what just happened. One of them murmurs something unintelligible into a radio, and they both turn and leave without further acknowledgement.

There’s a crunch of gravel and another flash of headlights, and the air in the room seems to come back all at once.

“What,” Jeong Jeong slurs, “the _fuck_ was that?”

Sokka can’t help but agree. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to state that this fic is *not* heading into Katara-bashing country. Katara is messy and fierce and I love her. She's just going through some *very loud emotions* right now, which we see through Sokka's eyes. Sokka is entitled to view his little sister in the worst light possible when she gets shouty and mean on account of the Sacred Sibling Compact.
> 
> The first line of Azula's book excerpt is a near word-to-word quote from Survival Instinct by L. Ron Hubbard. All chapter titles are also L. Ron Hubbard quotes from various sources. I told y'all the Fire Nation is Scientology, right?
> 
> I also told y'all there was gonna be angst, right? Next chapter is from Zuko's point of view, dear readers. Have your tickets ready, because the angst train is leaving the station. Choo-choo!
> 
> As always, thank you all so much for reading. Please leave a comment on your way out!


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